Anti-inflammatory effect of the methanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of Tragopogon porrifolius aerial parts

Tragopogon porrifolius L. (Asteraceae) is an edible plant widely used in the Lebanese folk medicine. The present study investigates the acute anti-inflammatory effect of the methanolic, ethyl acetate and chloroform extracts of the aerial parts of T. porrifolius and the chemical analysis of the extracts using GC-MS technique. Acute anti-inflammatory activity was tested using the carrageenan-induced paw edema model in mice. Doses of 250 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 50 mg/kg body weight of each extract were administered intraperitoneally prior to carrageenan treatment and measurements of paw thickness were taken at 0 and 4 hours. The methanolic extract exhibited maximum anti-inflammatory activity (60%; 250 mg/kg), followed by ethyl acetate (36%; 250 mg/kg), and chloroform (29%; 100 mg/kg) extract, when compared with the untreated control group. The inhibition of paw edema by the methanolic extract was comparable in effect to that of diclofenac (10 mg/kg) treatment (69%). GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of β-amyrin acetate in the three extracts: 20.9% in the methanolic (major), 9.52% in the ethyl acetate, and 7.42% in the chloroform extracts. β-amyrin acetate has been reported in the literature to possess anti-inflammatory and nociceptive activities and might be partly responsible for anti-inflammatory effects of the three Tragopogon porrifolius extracts.

Acknowledgments: Mr. Jean Karam.